No matter how bad your day might be going, you’ll never have to tell your boss that you toppled a $290-million satellite right onto the shop floor. Unfortunately (or fortunately), that is just one of the many geeks who might be having a really bad day.
Wannabe Jedi Knights rejoice, for scientists have discovered that the famous lightsaber weapon wielded by Luke Skywalker and his ilk in the long-running space opera saga might one day exist beyond the realms of fiction.
Harvard and MIT physicists writing in the new edition of Nature say they have discovered a way to bind photons together in order to form a new molecule which behaves almost exactly like George Lucas’s deadly devices.
„Most of the properties of light we know about originate from the fact that photons are massless and do not interact,“ said Harvard universityphysics professor Mikhail Lukin. „What we have done is create a special type of medium in which photons interact with each other so strongly that they act as though they have mass, and bind together to form molecules.
„It’s not an in-apt analogy to compare this to lightsabers. When these photons interact with each other, they’re pushing against and deflect each other. The physics of what’s happening in these molecules is similar to what we see in the movies.“
FULL ARTICLE + Official Source: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/30/star-wars-lightsabers-invented
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a multipurpose spacecraft designed to conduct reconnaissance and Exploration of Mars from orbit. The US$720 million spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin under the supervision of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. MRO’s telecommunications system will transfer more data back to Earth than all previous interplanetary missions combined, and MRO will serve as a highly capable relay satellite for future missions.
MRO contains a host of scientific instruments such as cameras, spectrometers, and radar, which are used to analyze the landforms, stratigraphy, minerals, and ice of Mars. It paves the way for future spacecraft by monitoring Mars‘ daily weather and surface conditions, studying potential landing sites, and hosting a new telecommunications system.
Official Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3yVKAADQ6M&feature=player_embedded#t=0
Not just a myth, beachgoers in the Spanish community of Cantabria were astonished Tuesday when they stumbled onto the carcass of a giant 30-foot-long squid that had washed ashore almost fully intact, and weighed nearly 400 pounds.
According to Grind TV, it „was delivered to the Maritime Museum of Cantabria, where it was cleaned and frozen, while a decision is awaited between museum scientists and the government as to what will be done with the colossal cephalopod.“
The discovery was incredible because giant squid are extremely elusive and „reside at depths of between 1,000 and 3,000 feet, and most of what scientists have learned has come from carcasses that have washed ashore, and rarely are entire carcasses found.“
Official Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvi_5Bq8gE8&feature=player_embedded#t=0
http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/nature/post/beachgoers-in-spain-discover-30-foot-giant-squid/
In a nutshell, scientists from Southampton University used an alternating current, powered by a transformer, to recreate a bolt of electricity by passing 200,000 volts across an 11-inch gap. This generated the same heat, light and charge produced by a bolt of lighting, which was then used to charge the battery on a Nokia 925 phone.
According to The Daily Mail, „Neil Palmer from the university passed the extremely high voltage across a gap between two conducting tubes in order to generate the bolt. The charge was then passed through a second, controlling transformer, connected to the phone’s battery.
Official Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2441940/Scientists-harness-power-electrical-strikes-charge-mobile-phone-seconds.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJTl2oqaWPs&feature=player_embedded#t=0
Priced at $1936, the Cube 3D Printer can make plastic items up to 5.5-inches square such as toys, doorknobs, party cutlery, kitchen utensils or chess pieces. It’s not limited to just simple plastic objects, as it can print car wheels and even a replacement windscreen washer nozzle for your car.
Here’s how it works: „when a design for an object is programmed into it from a memory stick or a wifi link to the internet, The Cube recreates it by building up fine layers of hot melted PLA plastic, which is flexible, or ABS, which is rigid.“ The cartridges come in 16 colors and most importantly, the plastics are recyclable and compostable.
Official Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2440632/The-3D-Cube-printer-gives-production-line-home.html
No, this isn’t yet another genetically modified plant, but rather one that was created using a much simpler method. Called the TomTato, it’s created using a hi-tech grafting process and can yield more than 500 sweet cherry tomatoes as well as a decent crop of white potatoes.
According to its creator, Paul Hansford, „it can be planted from late April and produces trusses full of tomatoes which have a traditional tangy, sweet flavour from July to October and a good hearty crop of potatoes of a versatile variety, which can be boiled, mashed, roasted or made into chips, for late in the season.“
Official Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2432094/TomTato-plant-produces-potatoes-tomatoes-sale-UK.html
A group of Korean scientists from Daejon, South Korea used metabolic engineering to create fatty acid derivatives that are shorter than normal, allowing the biosynthesis of short-chain alkanes. In other words, E. coli has been used to produce gasoline for the very first time.
In addition to producing gasoline, this discovery also enabled researchers to produce fatty esters and alcohols with the addition of different enzymes, which means E. coli may go on to create vegetable oil, detergent and even cosmetics. One caveat: the „E. coli-to-gasoline transformation technique is still in the works and not ready to be unleashed on the world just yet, as it has only produced 580 mg of gas per liter.“
Official Source: http://www.dvice.com/2013-9-30/scientists-successully-get-e-coli-produce-gasoline
Swimmers rejoice! Now when you’re training or just exercising, you can put on a pair of Neptunes headphones and enjoy your favorite tunes. This innovative new technology allows swimmers to listen to music while underwater, by conducting sound through the bones in the human skull.
The Neptune headphones send sound waves to the inner ears through swimmer’s cheekbones, resulting in them being able to hear music in their heads.
The device mimics the way dolphins and whales communicate in the water by transmitting sound vibrations.
A waterproof mp3 player streams the music which resonates through the bones and into the highly sensitive cochlea part of the ear.
Official Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2437574/Incredible-underwater-headphones-transmit-music-swimmers-ears-vibrating-sound-cheekbones.html
Zac Vawter lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident during 2009. Fast forward to today, you won’t even be able to tell one of his legs isn’t real when you see Zac in pants. Yes, he’s been fitted with the world’s first bionic leg controlled by thought.
This innovative, breakthrough bionic leg was developed at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and was made by possible by rewiring two nerves from what remained of Vawter’s right leg to hamstring muscles. You see, at the top of the bionic leg is a computer with sensors that interact with those nerves, and so when Vawter thinks the actions he wants the leg to perform, the nerves communicate that through the sensors to the computer controlling it, and it performs the desired movement.
Official Source: http://www.geek.com/science/software-engineer-rewired-to-use-bionic-leg-controlled-by-thought-1571975/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efN8QPbVHdU&feature=player_embedded#t=0
Boeing has managed to transform several Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets into pilotless drones. During the unmanned test flight, one of the jets cruised at 40,000 ft and hit speeds of Mach 1.47 while performing a series of maneuvers, including barrel rolls and a „split S“.
The F16 took off from a base in Florida and flew to the Gulf of Mexico while being trailed at all times by two chase planes monitoring its course. According to the project’s chief engineer, Paul Cejas: „It flew great, everything worked great, [it] made a beautiful landing – probably one of the best landings I’ve ever seen.“
Official Source: http://www.gizmag.com/boeing-f16-jet-unmanned-drone/29203/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wDXTo1dSMg&feature=player_embedded#t=0
Hier sind ein paar Fotos vom Cyberith Team in Action , wir freuen uns sehr die jungs kennengelernt zu haben. Tolles Team 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNj2raXBeV0&feature=player_embedded#t=0
If you just can’t get out of bed, NASA might have a mission for you.
A NASA study is recruiting volunteers to to lie in a bed that is tilted downward at a 6 degree angle for 70 days. Subjects who complete the entire bed rest project can earn up to $18,000.
The study is meant to test the conditions that astronauts might experience while traveling in space. NASA hopes to find out what physical changes occur to scientists on these missions and how much body function is required for a person to complete a specific task.The information will be used to develop methods that allow astronauts to have an easier time physically acclimating to daily life following space exploration.
Since there is no gravity in space, astronauts don’t exert as much effort and might not get the necessary exercise they need to stay in shape.
Researchers are requiring participants to stay on a slight tilt which is intended to allow fluids to move towards the upper part of the body. That would allow researchers to study cardiovascular symptoms similar to what might be experienced during a space expedition.
The volunteers will be required to live in a bed rest facility located in NASA’s Flight Analogs Research Unit (FARU) at the University of Texas Medical branch in Galveston, Texas. The subjects will be split into two groups. Some will be required to spend 105 days living in the facility and go through a variety of resistance and aerobic exercises while remaining on bed rest. The others will spend 97 days, and will not be required to do the exercises.
Data about the subjects‘ bones, muscles, heart and circulatory systems, nervous systems, nutritional conditions and their abilities to fight off infections will be recorded.
If they need to shower or use the bathroom, NASA has a modified shower device so the subjects will not need to stand.
For both groups, they’ll have a few days of regular, mobile living inside the facility and a two-week recovery period after their 70 days of bed rest where they will be reconditioned back to normal physical activity.
NASA will pay $1,200 a week for the study which can last up to 15 weeks. The study was vetted and deemed safe by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, a committee which looks at the safety and ethics of medical research studies with human subjects.
Still interested? You must be in shape — another requirement is that participants have to be non-smokers in healthy physical condition who pass the Modified Air Force Class III physical.
„We don’t want couch potatoes for this study,“ Dr. Roni Cromwell, a senior scientist on the study, said to the Houston Chronicle.
The project does come with potential health risks. Dr. Adam Stein, chairman of the dept. of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the North Shore-LIJ Health System in Great Neck, N.Y., told CBSNews.com that he typically sees loss of muscle strength, bone density and respiratory capacity in patients who have extended periods of bed rest. There’s also the danger for developing urinary and constipation problems.
„I would expect after 70 days there would be changes that can’t be made up for and recovered from (right away),“ he said, adding that healthy people should be able to recover to their pre-experiment function eventually.
Immobile persons chance getting skin issues like bed sores and pressure sores, especially because many patients lose sensation. But, Stein, who is not involved in the NASA study, said that since these volunteers will be in good health, the risk of getting these particular problems is low.
What he’s most concerned about are the psychological issues that may develop. People can become distressed or anxious from being stuck in bed for so long.
„I read a lot of studies where I thought people were lunatics to do it,“ Stein said. „I would really worry about the psychological effects of this particular study almost more than the physical.“
Still, Cromwell told Forbes that „not every type of person“ is able to 70 days at a time.
„Subjects in the study look at it as a way to help,“ Cromwell explained. „In that what we eventually do will help astronauts maintain their health while in space.“
Heather Archuletta, a NASA contractor for the studies program, previously volunteered for a bed rest study for the space agency in 2008.
„Even when it was sometimes challenging, I tried to remember I was doing this for astronauts, so that we can keep them more healthy in space,“ she said to Forbes. „The day I got up, after being in bed for 54 days, my feet hurt like crazy walking for the first time! But, I reminded myself, this is what astronauts go through, too. Being a ground analog tester for astronauts is exciting, because you get to experience a lot of the things they do.“
She added to CBSNews.com by email that she never had any long-term side effects and recovered 100 percent. She doesn’t regret joining the project, and knew when she was approved for the study that it would be difficult. However, the fact that she was able to provide valuable information for NASA and the U.S. made everything worth it.
After the micro-gravity study, she went back for two additional studies.
Archuletta emphasized that the screening process for these NASA programs is rigorous and only those who have the right personality and physical traits are invited to participate.
„No one in the program is crazy, crippled, or in the least unaware of what we are doing. The briefings and preparations are weeks long, and THOROUGH. We are willing to do this to help find ways to keep astronauts healthier in orbit, and when they return to Earth gravity,“ she wrote.
To learn more about the study, visit the official NASA bed rest studies website.
Official Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57603872/need-some-time-off-your-feet-nasa-paying-volunteers-$18k-to-lie-in-bed-for-70-days/
https://bedreststudy.jsc.nasa.gov/
Technically speaking, in computer architecture, 32-bit integers, memory addresses, or other data units are those that are at most 32 bits (4 octets) wide. Bill Gates at one point in time said that „we will never make a 32-bit operating system“, and that didn’t quite go as planned, but for the better.
Objective Europa is basically a group, led by Kristian von Bengtson, that is in the early planning stages of sending astronauts to Jupiter’s moon Europa to look for life. One caveat: the trip is one-way with no hope of return at the end of the mission.
This is different from the Mars One idea of sending volunteers to the Red Planet as colonists without a return ticket, and paying for their upkeep by featuring the settlers on a reality show. Objective Europa appears to be purely self-sacrifice in the name of science.
The main reason for this extraordinary project is to look for life elsewhere in the Solar System. Especially after recent findings on Mars, Europa looks to be the most logical candidate for finding life in our Solar System.
Official Source: http://www.gizmag.com/objective-europa/29132/
A loggerhead turtle named „Yu“ lost her front flippers in 2008, but since then she’s gone through 27 prosthetic fins swimming around her new home at Suma Aqualife Park near Kobe in Japan.
ABC News reports that while there have been various attempts to fit turtles with prosthetic limbs around the world, Yu is the only turtle to enjoy swimming using her rubber limbs without any problems.
The 200-pound female turtle wears a black vest to which the rubber flippers are attached, after aquarium staff had previously tried other versions, which squeezed her stumps and caused her discomfort.
Yu has become a tourist attraction and is thought to be approximately 25-years-old, but she could live to over 50 years of age.
Official Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2429860/Swimming-turtle-RUBBER-flippers-lost-fins-vicious-shark-attack.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WElQjSH30Js
An Explorer Edition of Glass is already a pricey piece of tech, and smartphone tethering plans required to give it a mobile Internet connection have only made ownership that much more expensive. However, there’s good news for Google’s guinea pigs: the latest update to the headgear quietly implemented a way around the additional monthly fees.
With XE9 loaded onto headsets, the companion Android app pipes data to and from the hardware, bypassing both the smartphone’s Bluetooth tethering settings and extra plan previously needed from some carriers.
To match the change, the application’s notification icon sports two arrows to signify the flow of info.
We doubt telcos will be fazed by this development for now, but we don’t know if that’ll hold once Glass arrives on shelves and hits the streets en masse. We’ve contacted Google to find out if the feature will make it to retail units.
Official Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/15/google-glass-bluetooth-tethering-without-data-plan/
Researchers at Cornell University and Germany’s University of Ulm discovered the world’s thinnest sheet of glass by accident while attempting to manufacture graphene. That’s right, the researchers noticed „what they called ‚muck‘ on the substance they were attempting to create, so they took a closer look.“
That look revealed something that wasn’t supposed to be there, something that had never before existed (at least, not to our knowledge). But thanks to a small air leak in their equipment, there was glass – glass that’s two atoms thick, making it the thinnest glass known to man.
In 1932 a physicist named William Houlder attempted to map out the arrangement of glass molecules, and though he came close, he never managed to pull it off. Yet this laboratory accident has allowed researchers to produce the exact arrangement of the atoms in glass via electron microscopy.
Official Source: http://www.dvice.com/2013-9-13/scientists-accidentally-discover-worlds-thinnest-glass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAMZPXhxBxo&feature=player_embedded#t=0
You read that right, researchers in Spain have developed a „Terminator polymer“, or one that is able to heal itself when torn apart and then put back togehter. Technically speaking, it’s a „permanently cross-linked poly(urea-urethane) elastomeric network.“
The science behind the scenes is a little complex and specific for the layman, but the results however, are easy to see. In just two hours of sitting around, the plastic can meld itself back together and recover 97 percent of a fully-severed connection.
No catalyst required. This is definitely Terminator-esque, but the practical uses for something like this are a little less murder-y, like more durable plastic components in cars, gadgets, and whathaveyou.
It’s finally official, NASA’s Voyager 1 has left the solar system and entered interstellar space. Approximately 36-years after it was launched from Earth on a tour of the outer planets, the plutonium-powered probe is more than 11 1/2 billion miles from the sun, cruising through what scientists call interstellar space – the vast, cold emptiness between the stars, NASA said.
Voyager 1 will now study exotic particles and other phenomena in a never-before-explored part of the universe and radio the data back to Earth, where the Voyager team awaits the starship’s discoveries.
The interstellar ambassador also carries a gold-plated disc containing multicultural greetings, songs and photos, just in case it bumps into an intelligent species.
Official Source: http://geekologie.com/2013/09/go-go-go-voyager-1-has-reached-interstel.php
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2419353/Voyager-1-leaves-solar-enters-interstellar-space.html
The £4,000,000,000 project was founded in 2010 by engineer Bas Lansdorp, who plans to recoup its costs by selling the broadcasting rights to the mission. The Dutch group wants to launch a supply mission that will land on Mars as soon as October 2016, followed by a ’settlement rover‘ in 2018.
They added that landing systems will be tested eight times before they are used to transport humans – a move that Mars One said will make the trips ‚much safer than moon missions‘. The second round will include an interview with Mars One committee members, and candidates advancing to the third round will compete against one another.
The third round will include a series of challenges to prepare candidates for the potential mission and will be broadcast on television and online.
The group said it aims to have a human settlement on Mars within a decade. Journey time to Mars, which is approximately 40 million miles away depending on its position in orbit, would be around 200 days.
Official Source: LINK
Not everyone who wants plastic surgery can afford it, but now some of those people are able to slip on a Uniface Mask by Chinese designer Zhuoying Li. Simply put, „the science team behind this unique beauty product has developed ‚bionic-skin‘ technology to produce a human-skin-like mask, which is extremely thin and breathable through its pores.“
Once applied, Uniface stays on and becomes your everyday face. According to the product site, the glue adheres to human skin and can only be removed at professional clinics, by Uniface experts.
If you experience any kind of discomfort or if for any reason you want the mask removed during the first month after purchase, the company’s science team will remove it free of charge. After the trial period has expired, users will need to pay a removal fee of $59.
Official Source: LINK